By Lee Kyung-min
Is a raw onion an agricultural product, or a food?
A local and an appellate court made different decisions about the case where a public company official knowingly sold a large amount of rotten onions and dried peppers.
Two officials at the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp. (aT), surnamed Cho, 48, and Song, 61, were indicted for buying 1,000 tons of onions, some of which were already rotting, from China in February 2011 and selling 480 tons of them to retailers here. They were also charged for selling 240 tons of partially rotted dried peppers imported from China in late September of 2011.
The lower court acquitted them of the violation of the law on food sanitation, saying both onions and red peppers were technically not food but agricultural produce.
However, the appellate court overturned the decision, recognizing the two items also as food.
“Although they are ingredients not usually consumed without cooking, it doesn’t mean they are not food,” the court said. “How to take in food differs according to individuals and according to times, and raw ingredients can be eaten uncooked.”
Following the decision, Cho was sentenced to eight months in jail suspended for two years, and Song was fined 7 million won.